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Post by candy188 on Feb 5, 2014 13:49:42 GMT 7
Haven't revealed the amount of our saving fund, so the sum didn't add up for you.   Could advise what is a more realistic rate of return of investment?  The numbers don't look right. Hard to see a savings of $1,500 a month translating to a retirement fund of $4,000 a month. Your rate of return of investment of 12.6% is rather high for an average person to achieve. Based on the AIA retirement calculator, we need to save $1,500 monthly so that we can enjoy a comfortable golden years to provide us with monthly living expenses of $4,000.
Assumptions: - Expected rate of Inflation : 5%- Expected annualised rate of return of investment: 12.6%To achieve retirement goal of $2,278,013.  wm.aia.com.sg/mm/retirement-planning.html |
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Post by oldman on Feb 5, 2014 13:56:34 GMT 7
Apologies. I thought you were encouraging others to save $1,500 monthly so that they can have $4,000 a month of retirement money. Did not realise that the posting is more personal and there is an initial savings fund.
I think for the average Joe investor, a rate of return of 5% is better for planning purposes. If you exceed this, good for you. If you don't, at least you can still lead a comfortable retirement. In planning for one's retirement, it is better to use pessimistic numbers as it is better to err on the side of caution than to be under provided. All the best.
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Post by candy188 on Feb 5, 2014 14:16:16 GMT 7
Hi Oldman, Appreciate the advice to over-provision for the nest egg. We are aiming for a moderate monthly living expenses of $3,000 during retirement years.
As I am building up my temperament to pickup the bargain stocks during Great Singapore Sale, I believe attaining more than a rate of return of 5% is attainable.
 Assumptions: - Expected rate of Inflation : 5%
- Expected annualised rate of return of investment: 5%
 Need to save $2,244 monthly to achieve my retirement goal of $1,874,055. Apologies. I thought you were encouraging others to save $1,500 monthly so that they can have $4,000 a month of retirement money. Did not realise that the posting is more personal and there is an initial savings fund.  I think for the average Joe investor, a rate of return of 5% is better for planning purposes. If you exceed this, good for you. If you don't, at least you can still lead a comfortable retirement. In planning for one's retirement, it is better to use pessimistic numbers as it is better to err on the side of caution than to be under provided. All the best.  |
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Post by oldman on Feb 5, 2014 14:25:48 GMT 7
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Post by om on Feb 5, 2014 17:38:49 GMT 7
Heres an interesting view on retirement fund, hope your chinese is ok to understand  |
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Post by candy188 on Feb 10, 2014 22:07:02 GMT 7
Simple & practical taste for me, a meal will do, I don't mind hawker centre, food court or restaurant.  More turning to 'Cupid concierges'Hate shopping? Outsource the task to The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia hotel's in-house concierge-service team, who can help you pick out jewellery and limited-edition shoes as gifts. Quintessentially's team once sourced a black crocodile Hermes Birkin bag worth $82,000 for a client, cutting its three-year waiting list to just three weeks."We've organised everything from a butler-serviced champagne dinner on top of an iceberg, to closing the Sydney Harbour bridge for a private proposal, and arranging a world-first opportunity for a couple to climb the Sydney Opera House and watch the New Year's Eve fireworks from the top of its 'sails'," recounts Quintessentially's executive director, Ms Caroline Lam. Concierge businesses say the voraciously growing demand stems from heightened expectations of the highly commercialised holiday, coupled with the increasingly time-starved modern lifestyles of high-net-worth individuals.
"Roses are always lovely, but sometimes a little cliched. Singaporeans are all becoming much more creative and expressive in how we show our softer side to our loved ones, but don't necessarily have the tools to arrange such things," says CEO Andrew Long of Ten Group Asia Pacific.  Some concierge services such as Quintessentially charge an annual membership fee of $7,700 for unlimited requests, while others work based on commission from their service partners, so customers pay only for third-party costs incurred per request.
Prices can start from a few dollars for a bouquet of flowers to US$250,000 (S$317,000) for a private charter of a yacht for an idyllic one-week sojourn that LesConcierges once organised. |
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Post by zuolun on Feb 11, 2014 17:12:38 GMT 7
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Post by oldman on Feb 14, 2014 4:25:16 GMT 7
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Post by candy188 on Feb 14, 2014 6:51:12 GMT 7
Disagree with what Jim Rogers stated in the article, tons of Singaporeans are struggling in the rat race to make ends meet.
"Singapore is the most successful country of the past 40 years. We've gone from half a million people living in poverty to 5 million people LIVING PROSPEROUS LIVES."
- Jim Rogers
Extract from the article:
Patricia works full time as a nurse in a government hospital.
She is undereducated by Singapore's standards, with only n-levels (below high school) and an ITE (technical college) certificate in nursing, and earns S$1,400 (£670) per month.
Patricia's situation stands starkly against the case of Anton Casey, a British wealth manager who ignited the wrath of Singaporeans when he referred to public transport commuters as "poor people". ====> In 2001, Singapore was ranked 97th in the list of world's most expensive cities.
======> Ten years later, it was ranked sixth.
 Ongoing inflation means that basic amenities such as food continue to rise without an equivalent match in real wages. According to Hui Weng Tat, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: ====> "We have a LARGE number of households who are EARNING INCOME in the LOWER END and NOT having ENOUGH to COVER their HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE, especially at the lower 20%."
A study by the National University of Singapore's (NUS) social-work department stated that "the working poor in Singapore … is defined as someone earning less than half of the average monthly income of a Singaporean, which now stands at S$3,000". The World Bank's poverty line is set at 50% of the country's mean income. A growing upper class – 17% of Singapore's population has a net worth of over S$1m
and more rich individuals are flocking here, drawn by the low corporate tax rate, no capital gains or estate tax, and a personal income tax capped at 20%.
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Post by candy188 on Feb 14, 2014 11:59:51 GMT 7
Inflation has hit the wedding couple hard .... $80 used to be the norm for hongbao at wedding dinner at 5-star hotels 15 years ago.  My sister was bleeding on her purse strings after hosting her wedding at Mandarin Hotel then.  Whereas, we still managed to earn profit of $1k plus by choosing a 4-star hotel to host our big day.  Neither did we choose any wedding package as I merely bought a white evening gown that cost $50 & took $180 indoor photography package as I noticed that my friends usually dumped their wedding albums (taken by professional photographer after footing $5k package or more) in storeroom after the kids become the focus of marriage life.  2014 wedding hongbao rates: $160 minimum for 5-star hotels
If you're scratching your head over the amount of ang bao (hongbao, or red packet) money deemed appropriate for a wedding dinner in Singapore, perhaps this wedding ang bao guide will ease your frustration. PerfectWeddings.sg recently released the ang bao market rates for weddings in Singapore for the year 2014 on its Facebook page. Ang bao rates start at $90 for wedding lunches at hotels like Riverview Hotel and Changi Village Hotel to as high as $260 for a wedding dinner at 5-star establishments like Capella Singapore.
 From the guide, ang bao rates typically start at a minimum of $160 for weekend wedding dinners at 5-star hotels like Fullerton Hotel, Goodwood Park Hotel and Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa.
The ang bao guide, however, comes with a note from Perfect Weddings, which states: "There have been many instances when wedding couples were unable to recover the banquet cost from the ang baos given.
"This Ang Bao Market Rate is a guide to the giver on the appropriate amount to gift to the couple based on the average cost per seat." Dream $110k wedding ends in debtSINGAPORE - All this couple wanted to do was to indulge their desire for a dream wedding.
After all, you get married only once in this lifetime, said Mr Cayden Lee. But that indulgence proved to be costly for them. The 32-year-old insurance agent is still mired in the debt he incurred in October 2012.
He told The New Paper on Sunday: "This is the real regret. We struggle from month to month just to make ends meet."
The couple borrowed $45,000 from a financial institution with a repayment period of two years. They also borrowed $4,000 from a licensed moneylender and $11,000 from a relative. On top of that, they pumped in their entire savings of $20,000. They also charged to their individual credit cards, said his wife, who wants to be known only as Mrs Lee. She estimates the charges were another $30,000. The total sum? $110,000.
They spent so much that Mrs Lee's other dream - a honeymoon in Europe - had to be put off. She said: "We ended up going to Genting Highlands for five days instead.
Mr Lee felt that they neglected to consider one important factor - that his relatives were not "high-class or rich folk".
"Our relatives are mostly ordinary people, not highly educated, and I think that is also why the hongbao collected eventually did not cover some of the table costs," he said. To break even, the couple had to collect $200 from each guest, added Mrs Lee. Trying to clear the debts has put a strain on the marriage and their relationship, Mr Lee said. "I think we have had more fights since we got married than in the six years that we were dating. "Most times, it was over money...and we'd end up blaming each other for the situation." The couple have made lifestyle changes to ease the strain on the pocket. He said: " We spend most of our time watching television at home, or going to the nearby park for our regular jogs." |
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Post by zuolun on Feb 17, 2014 9:40:42 GMT 7
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Post by zuolun on Feb 18, 2014 11:03:19 GMT 7
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Post by zuolun on Feb 18, 2014 13:48:16 GMT 7
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Post by zuolun on Feb 20, 2014 11:34:43 GMT 7
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Post by zuolun on Feb 21, 2014 22:30:46 GMT 7
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The numbers don't look right. Hard to see a savings of $1,500 a month translating to a retirement fund of $4,000 a month. Your rate of return of investment of 12.6% is rather high for an average person to achieve. 
Based on the AIA retirement calculator, we need to save $1,500 monthly so that we can enjoy a comfortable golden years to provide us with monthly living expenses of $4,000.
